Tag archives for modern

Today, I am feeling satisfied as I unwind and regroup from a month-long bathroom renovation with the sweet and stylish Lulu of Lulusfashionpick. You can see the Inspiration for her beautiful classic bath renovation here and see all the inspiring pics on our shared pinboard.

When the demolition began just about everything in the bathroom changed. If you have ever wondered about the process of renovating a bath from start to finish…here…we…go!

First, we removed all the shower and tub surround completely and lined the shower with green-board, a type of waterproof drywall that is essential in showers and baths. Suddenly, the space appeared to be twice the size without the metal framing and the tub.

I provided quick sketches in 1/4″ scale including a space plan and lighting plan for the contractors to follow. In red, I drew in the recessed lights and switches.

We removed the original vanity, lighting, and recessed medicine cabinet.

Next, our contractor hot mopped the shower surround further waterproofing the space, a final preparation before the concrete could be skimmed on to the walls and floor. It was exciting to watch the changes day by day. Did I mention that I loved working with the contractor? He was always on time, hardworking and helped to keep us on budget throughout the project.

The highlight of the demolition was watching the tile work put in place. The tile craftsman was so artful cutting the 3″ tiles for the edging and 5″ tile to become the baseboard as well. Later, he buffed and polished the edges of the tile for a bullnose curved finishing.

Once the tiling was complete, they began to focus on the plaster and detailing of the space. I leave with a shot of the Pigeon Gray paint that we chose to accent the room!

I just couldn’t wait to see the room without the drop cloth covering the floor and the plastic liner totally removed from the shower…

I plan to post the final pictures of the room next week! You can see a sneak peak of the vanity and sconces over on Instagram of this truly unique and classic space that has been a JOY to design. Until then, please share, what is your favorite tiling material and paint for bath? Anything finishes that you are dying to experiment with?

I loved the idea of a fully customizable closet and wanted to provide all of the features that I could. On the other hand, we were on a budget doing the entire property and the closets seemed to be something extra beyond a necessity.

I love Ana’s carpentry and her comprehensive design plans. Since, I do not have the ability or time to DIY this one…I showed these to my carpenter to obtain a quote. Unfortunately, in this instance the cost was in the labor and not the materials. His quote was over $1,000….so I had to really consider the value vs. money a built-in closet might add to the property.

Even before my sweet baby boy Owen was born, I knew how I wanted to design his room. You see, I’ve always been a fan of bold pops of black and white. I’d say it was my guilty pleasure, except it’s so wonderful, there’ nothing to feel guilty about. It’s clean and classic, but never goes out of style. Plus, because it’s gender neutral, I knew it would be perfect whether we had a girl or a boy.

And so Owen’s room has a beautiful black-and-white theme with mixing-and-matching patterns, with a single pop of yellow to add a bit of quirkiness, which fits really spectacularly with the modern, clean-lined furniture. Some prefer colored walls for their new bundle of joy, but I chose to keep the walls white. It has a maturing feel; one that is perfect for him as a newborn but can grow with him as he gets older, and his baby room becomes a big boy room.

Also the bare walls really make the colors of his new toys and books pop! So much fun!

As he enters the world of discovering the joys of patterns, Owen loves looking at the black raindrop decals and homemade hot air balloon mobile that hangs above and beside his crib. It creates lots of those baby smiles that melt my heart all day long! The hot air balloon is a self-made custom version of an art project I teach in my classes. The kids love it, and so do I.

One thing I’ve come to realize – I never knew how much time I would spend on the floor before becoming a new mommy. Owen and I play on the floor a lot and do tummy time on the black and white striped rug and black and grey FLOR carpet tiles. They not only add to the color theme, but provide a soft place for us to play.

The artwork in Owen’s room is special because it’s all original pieces by me, his mommy! That includes the paintings and the hot air balloon mobile. Starting in college, I focused my art to be ideal for children. This is where I began my themed watercolor illustrations of animal family-themes. Each piece has a family of animals doing an act of bonding whether it be peacocks learning how to ride a bike or sea monkeys learning how to scuba dive.

The painting above the changing table was a gift to my hubby before we got pregnant of what I envisioned our home would look like when we had a family. The colors are gentle, and the theme really adds great warmth and a sense of family to the room.

Creating children’s art has always been my creative outlet. It was so fun to design and even more satisfying seeing it all displayed in my son’s space. It tells a story. I want my son to discover his creativity and find himself. I wanted to create this space, where he use his imagination and dream big.

This gives me an opportunity to not only lay a good foundation of color and pattern discovery, but also pass the torch, so that what inspired mommy may also inspire Owen.

Thank you, Michelle~ for sharing your story and inspiring us and for all the maternity guidance along the way…stay tuned for a peak at our family news this Friday!

It has been a fun and rewarding project working with my client Paul, on his guest bedroom this month. He wanted to create a classically inspired, comfortable and modern space for his many guests to enjoy on their visits to L.A. Our original concept began with a black and white palette and a hint of Hollywood charm.

You may be surprised at the difference that we made by simply changing the lighting, headboard and focal point in the space. I call this a bedroom reinvented! One major change was in the overhead lighting. Although, I wasn’t sure about orb chandelier in the bedroom at first, I absolutely love it over the bed. I see how visually light and stunning it feels.

Another favorite accent that I added are the classic swing arm brass sconces placed by the new gray linen tufted headboard. The warm gold and the cool gray-blue are the perfect color combination!

The gray linen headboard was special ordered and a great price for it’s quality. Both Paul and I liked the sophistication of the winged sides with the silver nail head finish. The pillows and sheets layer together to create a Hollywood style. The bedding is a super soft white cotton linen that is trimmed with a dark gray edge. The pillows are a mix of silk, velvet, and cotton, so lots of textures and patterns combine and work together.

The nightstands were one of the best finds ever. We had a blast looking for them at the Santa Monica Antique Market. You can see how they looked before with the layers of old white paint…It is amazing how an antique piece can be fully restored to it’s original beauty. We used Ebony colored stain by Minwax.

Here is a closer look at the carved legs and feet. They have a claw and ball style and I would date these as a 1930’s Hollywood Regency designs? Any experts out there with ideas?

I promise even better professional photos when we do the actual photo shoot along with a few room updates…we still have some art to arrange and a modern chair in the works.

On another note, if you have a bedroom or guest room that could really use a little extra love contact me. You may be surprised how fun and easy it is to work with a designer to pull it together.

Next, I will show you how I custom designed a large round hanging mirror for a client in Birmingham, Alabama…until next time have a fun and safe 4th of July weekend.

Today, I am back from my trip to Cancun and feeling refreshed. There is an abundance of fantastic work around my studio to dive into. One piece that I recently finished re-imagining, is the Ocean Waves Ombre Teal Dresser. I chose the original vintage piece for the solid structure and unique mid-century style slant of the drawers.

I created this piece through gentle sanding, painting and restoration. I have perfected the art of finishing furniture through experience and over time. I always use a basic primer and generally 3-4 coats of paint, so that the surface is protected.

The colors are hand mixed paints in gradient that was partly inspired by our recent trip to Cancun, the clear blue waters and the waves. Can you believe the depth of those blue green hues!?!

After this vacation, I finally felt free from stress and relaxed! I vowed to visit Cancun (or Hawaii:) more often.

In the same spirit of summer, I have created a white belt wrapped mirror. It is beachy and mid century and touch of vintage, mostly modern, simply how I like my decor to be.

I get a thrill out of looking for the perfect vintage belts to accent these pieces. I like the texture and age of the brass studs on this one, along with the way that white and gold look when paired together.

Lastly, I discovered this neat European publication called Re.flect magazine, for those of you overseas. I am really proud to have my ombre dresser alongside many cool products featured here this season.

Do you have any vacations on the horizons this Summer? What summer trends inspire you? Please share!

As a part of my vow to refresh our living space this Spring/Summer, I have also promised to do a quick spring cleaning of my blog as well. (ahem! anybody notice the new banner?!) That was all me;) I guess fiddling around with Photoshop for the past 5 years has started to pay off. Although, I do need the expertise of a pro graphic designer for the remaining look and feel.

Many of you have asked to see the results of a client home restyle that I did this Spring. I am happy to finally share the results of the photo shoot with you.

In this case, all of the waiting and hunting around really paid off in the end, when I came across this metal porthole mirror. It is steely with a tinge of blue and really reminds me of something from the side of a ship. I just love how she captured the reflection of the books in the mirror peeking through.

In my opinione, the juxtaposition of the warm walnut and cool blue is what makes this really work.

This project was all about working with we had and streamlining the look with accessories. For example these custom walnut sofa wraps can be made to fit any size sofa and really added warmth and interest to the IKEA KIVIC sofas that my client already owned. The wide arm works so well with a wrap!

Other accessories included custom slipcovers, pillows and throws. I really like the combination of cobalt blue with the brown walnut wood.

If you’re looking for more living room design ideas, head over to see the almost completely updated version of my design portfolio here.

I have intended to share a glimpse into our own living space since I started PinkPianos in 2009. While many of these walls and backdrops my look familiar, (I have shot many Before and Afters in various rooms of our flat) this is the most complete peak of the space ’til date. One activity that never bores me is restyling the mantle, since out fireplace is decoration only, I always like to dress it up with different accessories. Our friend and photographer, Amelia took all of these pictures on the way to a photo shoot of my client’s space. One thing I noticed when putting together this post is that nearly all of the rooms in our home have original artworks. Part of the reason is because I know plenty of artists and the flip-side is that artwork is an affordable and fun way to customize a living space.The turntables belong to my husband and they have provided endless amounts of musical entertainment and energy. The last room that I will share with you is my studio. Every artist needs a light-filled workspace. Photo ledges are a great way to organize paintings and visual inspiration. I have plans for a large linen tack board in the works over the next few weeks.

Until next time, I’d love to hear what you think about our ephemeral yet, curated place. Feels good to be back after a weekend of celebration!